According to a new study, alcohol can increase your fluency in foreign languages. Yahoo Finance's Adam Shapiro, Julie Hyman, and Andy Serwer are joined by Cumberland Advisors Chairman & CIO David Kotok to discuss.

The investment firm run by Byron D. Trott is buying a minority stake in WhistlePig, a distiller of high-end whiskeys, the latest sign of the spirit’s grip on American’s tastes and wallets. BDT Capital Partners is making a bet that consumers will continue to pay up for craft cocktails. A bottle of WhistlePig’s special edition Boss Hog V— named for Mauve, one of two pigs that once lived on its Vermont farm—sells for $550. Last year, BDT bought a controlling interest in Casa Dragones tequila, whose premium bottles can set shoppers back $280.

Americans are increasingly laying off the booze, prompting the world’s biggest brewers and liquor companies to push beyond their traditional fare and roll out teas, energy drinks and nonalcoholic spirits. New data show that U.S. alcohol volumes dropped 0.8% last year, slightly steeper than the 0.7% decline in 2017. Beer was worst hit, with volumes down 1.5% in 2018, compared with a 1.1% decline in 2017, while growth in wine and spirits slowed, according to data compiled for The Wall Street Journal by industry tracker IWSR.

Jane Walker is showing up at the 2019 Women's March on Saturday, January 19th in Washington D.C. to celebrate the many messages of optimism and empowerment that come to life in the incredible signs for the march. The Striding Woman icon will walk with the millions of people who march around the world towards a shared vision of progress in gender equality.

CEO Vic Neufeld and co-founder Cole Cacciavillani “are both nearing the end of their five-year journey with the company and will transition out of their executive roles over the coming months but remain on the board,” the company said in a statement Friday. Newly appointed chairman, Irwin Simon and President Jakob Ripshtein, who joined the company from Diageo Plc in May, will “complete a smooth and responsible transition to a globally-minded executive leadership team,” the company said.

Most stocks suffered last year. The S&P 500 was down for the first time since the 2008 recovery. But Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) stock did much worse. The stock is down over 30% in the past 12 months, outstripping many others in the sector.
A lot of it came yesterday when management delivered a mediocre earnings report. Profits fell and they lowered forward guidance expectations. The stock plunged 12% on the headline.
STZ stock is now lagging far behind competitors like Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) and Diageo (NYSE:DEO). But there is hope from several angles.
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So today's trade is to go long the stock for the mid-term. This is a fundamental decision since it is now trading at 10 trailing price-to-earnings ratio. Owning it here is not likely to be a colossal financial mistake. There is much more upside potential than downside risk.
### Now the Good News for STZ Stock…
Constellation management is proven and they are not afraid to make bold moves. This is evident from their $4 billion investment in Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) a budding company (no pun intended) that competes in the cannabis sector. Clearly they are looking far out into the future. To that point, other experts agree as Goldman Sachs and Guggenheim upgraded the stock overnight.
* Morgan Stanley: 7 Risky Stocks to Sell Now
In addition, a more encouraging tidbit of information came to light last night on CNBC. Rob Sands, who is the departing Constellation CEO, announced that he and his brother bought 1.1 million shares. So this is a huge bullish statement that the company is well on track. Else why risk $150 million?
Moreover, there is also technical hope. STZ stock has fallen into an abyss but this is also a potential area of support. Almost two years ago it broke out from these levels to start a 44% rally. It is now far below those highs but therein lies the opportunity.
These pivot zones usually create congestion because both bulls and bears will want to fight over them thereby creating the support. This combined with the facts that broke out yesterday from the departing CEO create the potential of a bottom.
The experts on Wall Street agree. Most analysts have at least a "buy" rating on it even though it is trading much lower than their lowest of price targets. Overnight we've seen two already defend the stock so there is clear value. I expect this to continue.
There are reasons to worry. First we still have macroeconomic headline risk from the tariff wars between the U.S. and China. Second, STZ has a small chance of catching a surprise downgrade. The longer the price is this far below target the higher the odds of analysts capitulating.
So I don't want to take any full-size position at this level so I will break the trade into two parts. First I buy the shares outright. Then to average down in a sense I will use options.
I sell the STZ Jul $115 put and collect $1.50 per contract. This is also a bullish trade which has a 90% theoretical chance of winning. If the price falls below $115 I have to own the shares and accrue losses below $113.50 per share. Long term, I am confident that I can make this position yield profit.
Click here and enjoy a free video and more of my market thesis and get an ongoing free copy of my weekly newsletters. Nicolas Chahine is the managing director of SellSpreads.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him as @racernic on Twitter and Stocktwits.
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The post 1.1 Million Reasons Why You Should Buy Constellation Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.

New licensee Danone North America works with product innovation team to reimagine BAILEYS line of indulgent coffee creamers BROOMFIELD, Colo. , Jan. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BAILEYS, the Original Irish ...

Most investors can accept that the market often tanks right around Halloween, but December is supposed to be a cheerful time of year! It doesn’t appear we’re getting a Santa Claus rally after all. Value, growth, dividend stocks — everything is on edge. Causing perhaps the most concern, the new Federal Reserve Board Chair — Jerome Powell — seems inclined to keep hiking interest rates regardless of what markets do.

Looking for stocks with high upside potential? Just follow the big players within the hedge fund industry. Why should you do so? Let’s take a brief look at what statistics have to say about hedge funds’ stock picking abilities to illustrate. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned approximately 5.7% in the 12 months ending October 26 […]

Spirits giant Diageo is taking a deeper plunge into bourbon and American whiskey production with plans for a new distillery in Kentucky. The $130 million venture includes plans to build a distillery and warehousing on an approximately 144-acre site at Lebanon in Marion County, the company said Thursday. Diageo officials said the goal is to start production in 2021.

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Elliott Management has built up a stake in Pernod Ricard and called on the family-backed French drinks company to boost profit margins and improve returns for investors. Elliott said on Wednesday its stake in Pernod Ricard was just over 2.5 percent, its first holding in a French blue-chip, worth around 930 million euros ($1.05 billion). The fund also said it had met Pernod Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard to discuss the way ahead.

’s fund has built a $1.1 billion stake in the owner of Jameson Whiskey and Absolut Vodka. Pernod is no basket case. Its sales increased 10% in the latest quarter versus the comparable quarter of 2017, stripping out currency and portfolio changes--better than Diageo managed.

If Elliott wants to shake up a drinks group, Diageo Plc is a better candidate. The activist’s argument for Pernod is that its revenue growth isn't being matched by a sufficient uplift in profit. Consequently, the operating margin is 5 percentage points short of Diageo's.

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Elliott Management has taken a stake in Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA) and wants the family-backed French drinks company to try to improve its performance via cost cuts and a potential merger with a rival. Elliott said on Wednesday its stake in Pernod Ricard was just over 2.5 percent, its first holding in a French blue-chip, worth around 930 million euros (837.2 million pounds). The fund also said it had met Pernod Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard to discuss the way ahead.